“None of the Above”, by I W Gregorio

A debut novel by author, surgeon and mother I W Gregorio, “None of the Above” is an entertaining and realistic portrayal of life of an American intersex teen, aimed at other young adult readers.

What if everything you knew about yourself changed in an instant?

When Kristin Lattimer is voted homecoming queen, it seems like another piece of her ideal life has fallen into place. She’s a champion hurdler with a full scholarship to college and she’s madly in love with her boyfriend. In fact, she’s decided that she’s ready to take things to the next level with him.

But Kristin’s first time isn’t the perfect moment she’s planned — something is very wrong.

A quintessentially American coming-of-age story for a headstrong homecoming queen with a difference, the book focuses on adolescent discovery, diagnosis, and their repercussions. “None of the Above” is at its most confronting when it describes the soul-searching and fears faced after an initial diagnosis with an intersex trait, and in a dramatic portrayal of how that shift in worldview and perception impact on the protagonist and her community. The results of sudden and unwanted disclosure provide the most visceral and challenging material in the book. The consequences of snap decisions, the injustices faced by intersex women athletes, and the scarcity and importance of peer and family support, are each also highlighted.

The author, I W Gregorio has actively and thoroughly consulted community organisations and people with AIS. This clearly shows and is most welcome. While “None of the Above” is fiction, her treatment of the issue is compassionate, realistic and respectful. There are no flights of fancy about what it really means to have an intersex body. At the same time, “None of the above” also manages to be firmly grounded and not didactic.

We don’t write many book reviews. Not only are there few fictional accounts of intersex published, there are fewer that we would recommend. There are so many intersex stories to tell and we’re glad to recommend “None of the Above”.